Jammu and Kashmir government exploring 'amnesty' for youth booked for violating law and order

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Government is looking into the possibility of a general amnesty to the youth involved in cases of law and order violation and have not been charge sheeted yet, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said today.

"The Home Department is looking into the possibility of some sort of a general amnesty to those cases that are not charge sheeted and not under the purview of the courts," he said addressing a day-long Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting of National Conference here.

On electoral alliances for Assembly elections due for later this year, Omar said a final call on the issue will be taken by NC president Farooq Abdullah after due consultations with the party leaders and workers.

"NC will give PDP a fight to remember in the forthcoming Assembly polls and the party has too glorious a history for its spirits to be dampened by one electoral result," he said referring to party's drubbing in Lok Sabha elections.

Omar said the party's Parliamentary Board would meet soon to announce the first list of candidates for the coming Assembly polls.

"It will be the party's endeavour to announce candidates soon so that they could start focusing on their respective Assembly segments," he added.

Omar also announced the constitution of a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Mohammad Shafi Uri to recommend medium to long-term measures to revitalise the organisational strength of the party.

Members to the Committee include G N Ratanpuri, S S Salathia, Irfan Ahmed Shah, Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy, Mehboob Beg and Sardar Harbans Singh.

The Committee would be given three months time to come up with recommendations that the party needs to adopt to consolidate and strengthen its ideological roots in the state.